Posted: 3/15/05
Man sentenced in Houston robbery
A Wisconsin man was sentenced in Houston County on March 8 for a July 10, 2004 burglary and theft at Root River Market and Wittís Pharmacy in Houston.
Tony J. Page, Janesville, Wisconsin, received a 21-month sentence, which was stayed, after pleading guilty to aiding and abetting second degree burglary and aiding and abetting theft of a controlled substance.
He must also serve 180 days in jail, but most of that has already been completed, Houston County Attorney Rick Jackson said on March 8.
His sentencing also include chemical dependency assessment, abstinence from drug use, and restitution of $6,117 to Root River Market, Wittís Pharmacy, and their insurance companies.
Another person charged in the burglary, Matthew J. Fedie, is being processed to return to Houston County to face charges in the case, Jackson said. Fedie is in prison in Wisconsin now on felony drug possession charges.
Allegedly hid in store
According to authorities, Fedie hid in Root River Market on July 10, then after the store had closed, he punched a large hole through the center of a metal door that separates the grocery store and the pharmacy and stole a large quantity of narcotics.
Store employees told investigators that two men matching Fedieís and Pages descriptions had visited the store twice during regular store hours on July 10. Store employees saw one man leave the store that evening, but not the other man. They searched the store, but could not find anyone.
Page told investigators that Fedie hid under a metal butcher-type table in the meat market area until the store closed, then went into the pharmacy and stole the narcotics and about $1,800 in cash.
Deputies from the Rock County, Wisconsin, Sheriffís Office stopped Page and Fedieís minivan on Interstate 90 in Rock County on July 15 because the license plates on it were registered to another vehicle. A search of the minivan, and the back of the squad car in which the two men were transported to jail, turned up various Schedule I and II narcotics.
Page told detectives that he had stolen the drugs from a city across the river in Minnesota, but could not recall the name of the city. A map in the van revealed the circled city of Houston, which led investigators to the Wittís Pharmacy/Root River Market burglary five days earlier.
Caledonia Argus
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